I did some major suspension work on my '99 Sienna, replacing the struts, strut mounts, spring cushions, ball joints, inner and outer tie rod ends, steering rack bushings and wheel bearings (and new tires). Also a new rear engine/transmission mount and new (Toyota rebuilt) half shafts. Not everything was "worn out" but some things definitely were and I just decided that after all the miles on this car it was time to change everything. The rear engine mount was a major challenge as the driveshaft passes through this mount (with a bearing) and the bearing rust-welds itself into the mount. I ended up having a friend cut a section out of the cast iron mount with his torch so we could remove the driveshaft.
Anyway, one thing was interesting. The right strut mount was normally worn but the left one (which had been making some clunking noises) was way more worn than the right. In addition it was seriously rusted out, to the point of worrying me while I was handling it before I got the spring compressor on it. The rust also attacked the inside of the left strut tower but not too seriously, I was able to blend out the corrosion and prime and paint it. It was mostly surface rust. After painting it put a bit of Cor-Ban 27L on both the new mount and the mating surface of the tower.
Why would one side be so much worse than the other? Obviously water (and salt in the winter) gets trapped in there somehow but not the other side. The bearing was pretty much disintegrated on the left side too but not the right.
Oh, and I hate using those hand spring compressors, especially on this car. The springs are too short to capture four coils on both sides and you just can't get the springs compressed properly to make the job easy. This and the fact that the whole process scares me.
Anyway, one thing was interesting. The right strut mount was normally worn but the left one (which had been making some clunking noises) was way more worn than the right. In addition it was seriously rusted out, to the point of worrying me while I was handling it before I got the spring compressor on it. The rust also attacked the inside of the left strut tower but not too seriously, I was able to blend out the corrosion and prime and paint it. It was mostly surface rust. After painting it put a bit of Cor-Ban 27L on both the new mount and the mating surface of the tower.
Why would one side be so much worse than the other? Obviously water (and salt in the winter) gets trapped in there somehow but not the other side. The bearing was pretty much disintegrated on the left side too but not the right.
Oh, and I hate using those hand spring compressors, especially on this car. The springs are too short to capture four coils on both sides and you just can't get the springs compressed properly to make the job easy. This and the fact that the whole process scares me.
